Drugs case adjourned

THREE Nigerian men caught with six kilos of cannabis last week were yesterday in court for their referral to the Assize Court.

The hearing was adjourned until Thursday after the trio requested legal representation.

They face charges of importation, possession with intent to supply and conspiracy to commit a felony.

The men will remain in custody until tomorrow’s hearing.

The suspects, one of whom is in Cyprus illegally, were arrested in Nicosia on June 16 when they tried to collect the drugs from a courier service representative in the Kaimakli district following a tip-off to the Drug Law Enforcement Unit by UK authorities. The package of drugs originated from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Two other men escaped during the bust. Police said yesterday afternoon they had yet to be found and it was highly likely they had left the country. The three suspects are thought not to have given investigators any information on the duo’s whereabouts.

The gang is believed to be involved in a ring that has been smuggling drugs into Cyprus.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.